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Drink Here Now: Tender

You can find plenty of bars serving craft cocktails along Geary Boulevard, but little in the way of wine—which makes Tender, a Tenderloin wine bar–cum–sanctuary, a welcome anomaly.

To keep its promise of ecological sustainability, Tender only serves wine on tap—which comes with none of the waste associated with its bottled counterpart. Kegged wine may seem industrial and antiseptic, but to Miriam Lipton, creator of Tender, it’s smart—the same kind of smart that spurs people to shop local or drive a Prius. Smarter still was her decision to partner with veteran sommelier Mickey Clevenger, whose résumé boasts the wine lists of Fleur de Lys and Tamarind.

Stepping from the street into the small bar, you’re greeted by low lighting and clean lines. Try ordering the Arneis, a white wine from Northern Italy that’s now grown near Santa Barbara. Bright and crisp, it’s an ideal refresher to precede dinner next door at Huxley. Leave the ground floor and walk upstairs to savor secluded glamour and gaze through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the Tenderloin, a neighborhood in transition whose edges are continually being nibbled away. 854 Geary Blvd. (near Larkin St.), 415-589-7879